Tag Archives: cars

Benetton B191

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1991 Benetton-Ford B191B

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

This car might be almost 25 years old, but make no mistake: it is a modern Formula One car. Modern Era, at the very least. This was a Benetton team car for both the 1991 and 1992 seasons, years where they had Michael Schumacher, Roberto Moreno, Nelson Piquet, and Martin Brundle as their star drivers.

It was originally built as a 1991 B191 but was re-fitted in 1992 to B191B specification – as you see it now. The engine is a Ford 3.5-liter V-8 making 730 horsepower. The competition history for this chassis, B191B-06, includes:

  • 1991 Hungarian Grand Prix – 22nd, DNF (with Nelson Piquet)
  • 1991 Portuguese Grand Prix – 5th (with Piquet)
  • 1991 Spanish Grand Prix – 11th (with Piquet)
  • 1991 Japanese Grand Prix – 7th (with Piquet)
  • 1991 Australian Grand Prix – 4th (with Piquet in his final F1 appearance)
  • 1992 South African Grand Prix – 26th, DNF (with Martin Brundle)
  • 1992 Mexican Grand Prix – 3rd (with Michael Schumacher – his first career podium)
  • 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix – 3rd (with Schumacher)

After Brazil in 1992, Benetton had its B192 ready for action and the B191B was parked. This car is being offered in its 1992 Brazilian Grand Prix livery and it is fully functional. It is a historic racer – taking Schumacher to his first podium and delivering Piquet a stellar final race. It can now be yours for between $380,000-$470,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of Bonhams’ Bond Street Sale lineup.

Update: Not sold.

Update II: Sold, Bonhams Monaco 2016, $1,200,618.

Monteverdi Safari

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1978 Monteverdi Safari 5700

Offered by Oldtimer Galerie Toffen | Toffen, Switzerland | November 29, 2014

Photo - Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Photo – Oldtimer Galerie Toffen

Peter Monteverdi founded one of Switzerland’s few automobile companies. He began it in 1967 and it went out of business in 1984. They built some serious luxury supercars in the early years but by 1976 the cars were history and the company looked way into the future: luxury SUVs.

The Monteverdi Safari was their second SUV, behind the Sahara. It was a re-styled International Scout designed by Carrozzeria Fissore. Three engines were offered: a 5.7-liter International V-8 (165hp) or the choice between two Chrysler V-8s, a 7.2-liter (305hp) or a 5.2-liter (152hp). This one has the 5.7-liter International engine with 165 horsepower.

The Safari was built between 1976 and 1982 and sold well in Europe and the Middle East. About 1,000 SUVs were built in total between the base Sahara and the upscale Safari. The price probably won’t be that outrageous compared to when it was new. You can read more here and see more from this sale here.

November Auction Highlights

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First up for November is one of our favorite annual sales, Bonhams London-to-Brighton sale where our featured Gardner-Serpollet was the top sale at $592,624. Quite a number of cars failed to sell including the Laperelle, the Panhard roadster, the Autocar, the Daimler, the CGV, and the Rochet. Our featured Malicet et Blin exceeded its estimate, selling for $163,366. The 1899 Peugeot sold for $115,075. Interesting non-feature cars (there weren’t many, non-feature cars, that is) were topped by this 1904 De Dion-Bouton 8HP Model V Coupe by Leon Molon. It sold for $141,904.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Phoenix Tricar sold for $36,729. The Cleveland Sperry Electric brought $88,151. And the Panhard Tonneau sold for $413,767. Click here for full results.

 Artcurial’s November sale featured this 1989 Ferrari F40 as the top sale for $1,151,285.

Photo - Artcurial

Photo – Artcurial

Our featured EJS Special failed to sell, but the Porsche 911 RS sold for $341,024. Check out full results here. Next up is Bonhams’ Harrogate sale where this 2001 Bentley Continental R Le Mans Coupe topped the sales at $160,146.

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Our featured Delahaye Estate Car failed to sell. Check out full results here. Now we’ll jump back to October for Osenat’s Fontainebleau sale. The top sale was this 1970 Porsche 911 T Targa for $41,250. Check out full results here.

Photo - Osenat

Photo – Osenat

And finally, H&H Auctions’ Pavilion Gardens sale. Our featured Foers Ibex failed to sell. The top sale was this 1966 Jaguar E-Type Series I 4.2 Coupe for $109,000. Click here for full results.

Photo - H&H Auctions

Photo – H&H Auctions

Porsche 908/2

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1969 Porsche 908/2 Longtail Spyder

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

The Porsche 908 was the successor to the 907 and it was introduced by Porsche to fight in the Group 6 category, which had just undergone rule changes for 1968. First came the 908/1. The 908/2 was a topless spyder, unlike the closed coupe 908/1.

The Langheck Coupe was a long tail version for high-speed tracks. But when Porsche chopped the top for 1969, the Longheck (long tail) Spyder was born. The engine is a 3.0-liter flat-8 making 350 horsepower. The light fiberglass body allowed this car to achieve high speeds on the straight at Le Mans.

This was a factory team race car before going into privateer hands, and its competition history includes:

  • 1969 12 Hours of Sebring – 7th (with Vic Elford and Richard Attwood)
  • 1970 12 Hours of Sebring – 7th (with Attwood, Gerhard Koch, and Gerard Larrousse)
  • 1970 1000km Brands Hatch – 6th (with Koch and Larrousse)
  • 1970 1000km Monza – 14th (with Larrousse and Rudi Lins)
  • 1970 Targa Florio – 13th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 1000km Spa – 9th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 1000km Nurburgring – 6th (with Larrousse and Lins)
  • 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans – 3rd (with Lins and Helmut Marko)
  • 1971 24 Hours of Le Mans – 43rd, DNF (with Hans-Dieter Weigel and Claude Haldi)

This car was later owned by Jo Siffert and appears in the Steve McQueen movie Le Mans. Later in 1971, it ended up in a private collection before being acquired by Peter Monteverdi. It has had a recent restoration and a handful of other owners. It’s an awesome machine with a fantastic history. There is no pre-sale estimate, but it’ll go big. Read more here and see more from this sale here.

Chassis # 908.02-05

Update: Sold $3,437,744.

Abarth 1000SP

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1966 Fiat-Abarth 1000SP Tipo SE04

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

If you’ve been following recent trends with regards to cars coming to auction, you might think this car is part of the liquidation of the Maranello Rosso Collection. And you’d be right. It’s a pretty car, this racer. It was used in both hillclimbs and on circuits.

The SE04 was Abarth’s first multi-tubular chassis and it used a Fiat-based 982cc straight-four making 105 horsepower at a wailing 8,000 rpm. It might not seem like a lot of power for a race car – even in 1966, but it weighs practically nothing and has a power-to-weight ratio of around 10 pounds per horsepower. It had a top end north of 130 mph.

This car was campaigned around Italy by privateers in various hillclimbs, winning here and there. Fabrizio Violati acquired the car around 1980 and added it to his fantastic collection of rare Abarths. It’s pretty cool and somewhere around 50 were made. This one should bring between $130,000-$190,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $213,767.

Talbot Alpine Racer

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1934 Talbot AV105 Alpine Racer

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Nothing like a lime green old race car, eh? This sporty Talbot is from the British Talbot and was a works race car. This is one of three Alpine Trial Talbots built for 1934. But this car had a bigger engine than the other two. It’s a 3.3-liter straight-six making 126 horsepower.

The 1934 Alpine Trial was the sixth such event run and it was a multi-day point-to-point race that ran through Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France. Imagine that scenery, blowing past at high speed! The three-car Alpine team shared overall top honors with the German Adler team.

This car went from the tour to Brooklands, where it competed in event after event, first averaging 85 mph over an hour run – later it would average over 107 mph. Subsequent runs would climb even higher – up to about 130 by the time racing at Brooklands ended. This was a serious speed machine in its day.

Bonhams has compiled an impressively immense history on this vehicle and you can read more about it here. It’s an incredible car and to the right person it will be worth a lot of money – as in between $1,300,000-$1,900,000. Check out more from Bonhams here.

Update: Sold $2,169,294.

Update: Sold, Bonhams Paris 2020 – $964,997.

Mercedes-Simplex Roi-des-Belges Tourer

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1909 Mercedes-Simplex 35HP Roi-des-Belges Tourer

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | November 30, 2014

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

Wilhelm Maybach was a brilliant automotive engineer and he does not get the recognition today that he deserves. Unfortunately, today, his name is more likely associated with a short-lived, over-priced Benz driven by rappers than the brilliant cars he designed before WWII.

The Mercedes Simplex was his design. This 35HP model is from 1909, the last year for the model, and the penultimate year for the Simplex. The engine is a 5.9-liter straight-four driving the rear wheels via a shaft.

This car was used by a sheep station in Queensland, Australia. It was the station manager’s car from 1914 into the 1930s and was regularly used in the very-inhospitable Australian outback. The car was sold to another outback outpost where it remained until the 1980s. The beautiful restoration you see here was completed in 2010. It runs and drives and it’s simply incredible it survived such a harsh, early life. But that’s a testament to Maybach’s industrious design. It should sell for between $640,000-$960,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams.

Update: Not sold.

Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept

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2001 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions
Photo – RM Auctions

Ah, the retro styling craze of the early 2000s. Ford decided to bring back the Thunderbird for the 2002 model year. The car’s introduction was preceded by a slew of concept cars, including this Sports Roadster.

These Thunderbirds had soft tops or removable hard tops. This car is topless and has a fiberglass tonneau cover that fits nicely against the back of the head rests. You could’ve gotten a similar look on a 1960s T-Bird.

The engine is a standard 280 horsepower 3.9-liter V-8. This car was acquired from Ford by Sam Pack in 2010. It’s the only one like it and should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $55,000.

Thunderbird Supercharged Concept

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2003 Ford Thunderbird Supercharged Concept

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

Photo - RM Auctions
Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Thunderbird F-Code from 1957 was a mean, powerful machine. This car was meant to be the spiritual successor to that car. Ford never put it into production. But they should have. The last Thunderbird was a dud and perhaps a hot rod version would have helped.

The engine is a supercharged 3.9-liter V-8 making 390 horsepower. That’s sports car territory. It has a vented hood and other minor details to set it apart. This car was also acquired by Sam Pack from Ford in 2010. It should sell for between $50,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the sale of the Sam Pack Collection.

Update: Sold $57,750.

A Pair of T-Bird Concepts

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Ford Thunderbird Concepts

Offered by RM Auctions | Farmer’s Branch, Texas | November 15, 2014

 2001 Ford Thunderbird Sports Roadster Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Ah, the retro styling craze of the early 2000s. Ford decided to bring back the Thunderbird for the 2002 model year. The car’s introduction was preceded by a slew of concept cars, including this Sports Roadster.

These Thunderbirds had soft tops or removable hard tops. This car is topless and has a fiberglass tonneau cover that fits nicely against the back of the head rests. You could’ve gotten a similar look on a 1960s T-Bird.

The engine is a standard 280 horsepower 3.9-liter V-8. This car was acquired from Ford by Sam Pack in 2010. It’s the only one like it and should sell for between $60,000-$80,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $55,000.

2003 Ford Thunderbird Supercharged Concept

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

The Ford Thunderbird F-Code from 1957 was a mean, powerful machine. This car was meant to be the spiritual successor to that car. Ford never put it into production. But they should have. The last Thunderbird was a dud and perhaps a hot rod version would have helped.

The engine is a supercharged 3.9-liter V-8 making 390 horsepower. That’s sports car territory. It has a vented hood and other minor details to set it apart. This car was also acquired by Sam Pack from Ford in 2010. It should sell for between $50,000-$80,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of the sale of the Sam Pack Collection.

Update: Sold $57,750.